Life with Jack & Zach: Big Boys

I have commented lately that the boys are now in big boy beds. You might recall from a previous post back in September/October timeframe that we attempted with big boy beds. That night quickly turned into nothing but chaos and frustrations resulting in Steve putting the beds back to cribs, later building a crib extension on top of the cribs to avoid the title of “escape artists”. Because our first attempt was marked in my book as a complete nightmare, taking almost two hours convincing two boys to go to sleep that I was not looking forward to the day/night when we would have to try with big boy beds again. Clearly they were not ready, neither were Mama and Dada.

A couple weeks ago while I was getting ready for the Helland/Townsend Christmas gathering I look over and Mr. Jack was standing in our bathroom when he should have been in his crib considering we just put them down for nap. I was shocked to see him not to mention my heart racing not really fully understanding how in the world he got out of his crib. Pictures do not do it justice but the crib extension really put height on top of the crib. In reminiscing about the day, Jack went to bed upset because he clearly was not ready to take a nap and when the boy is upset, he is pretty much persistent and determined to get his way. Since that day he really has not tried to escape and of course Zach did not make one attempt knowing we do not climb. However, I cannot be okay with the unknown fear of will he do it again, but this time hurt himself in the process? I cannot live like that wondering. Since it is the holiday and a little quieter with everyone taking extra time away from work, we thought now is the time. We converted their cribs to big boy beds last Friday and made the transition in the morning. We wanted time for them to get used to the look of their new bed for nap, but more so for bedtime. Coupled with that we sat with them talking about how they are big boys now and showing them books with little boys in big boy beds too. Steve and I shook on it that once we start with the big boy bed there is no turning back. We promised to be patient with the transition as this is just another milestone we need to work through but will be awesome when we get through the “newness”. I think back to other milestones we overcame 1) the boys eventually did okay once we moved into the house with new sounds and new environment 2) they also did GREAT once we got rid of the binkey…it turned out to be a piece of cake. The boys will get through this too.

It started with an attempt for nap. That didn’t go so well and they never napped. It turned into an hour of back and forth up and down. I am happy their beds are not in with toys because I can only imagine this process would more overwhelming. We also closed the playroom door and lock it so they cannot enter to get toys, etc. We made a solid attempt and decided it will not do us any good to fight it so we moved on with the day. We later had his parents come over to watch the boys so we could go out to dinner, not to mention take a little break but more so get ready for what we thought was going to be the longest night ever. We were home about 7ish to start bath time and quiet down from the day. I also decided since they did not take a nap that we should try to enforce an earlier bedtime from 8pm to 7:30/7:45. Steve and I looked each other and said, “Promise”! Bedtime was upon us so here we go. Oh my nothing at all what we expected. Wow--as soon as the boys put their head on their pillow it was nighty night. I think Steve and I looked at each other in amazement like are we really witnessing this right now—WOW! We did stay in their room for a little to make certain but this TIME it only took 10 minutes total unlike our first episode of 2 hours. They did awesome all night. It was perfect to see what they would do the next day knowing they had the freedom of getting out of their own bed. It was funny to see their faces Saturday morning. Hysterical.

Steve and I have been impressed with the boys since Friday as bedtime has been going very well. Perhaps part of it is the lack of nap 1) holiday gatherings and 2) not napping for us when we try, probably because we are Mama and Dada and kids know how to manipulate the parents. J This is okay, and they will eventually get used to the nap time routine again once we work through the transition entirely; it has not even been a full week. I informed Karley they might not nap but most kids do well for others anyway and what do you know…it was no problem for her on Tuesday. The boys listened to her when she said that we would be home after they woke up from their nap. I felt good knowing that it was not stressful since it was just her. They fell fast asleep and woke up at 3:30. I was nervous for bed time because Tuesday was really the first day they had a solid nap but no problems for us. They did go to bed a little late because we were having fun playing and realized that it was 8:30. Oops. J Oh well. Now that they are older I am more relaxed about their routine but still want to ensure they get enough sleep too because that is equally important. The boys did get up and down for a little but we are averaging less than 20 minutes for the whole process bedtime: brushing teeth, saying nighty night to the moon and stars, and tucking into bed to actually sleeping. We are thrilled the transition to big boy beds is working out GREAT! I am looking forward to more shopping since I want to remodel their bathroom and also buy new beds...eventually. Steve and I were not sure how smooth the transition would go so we still have their beds with part of the crib pieces attached in the event we had to go back. We are confident thou they were ready for the next phase in their life. Now we can focus on mastering going pee pee in the potty. J The boys always amaze us with everything they do and this includes potty training. They have been doing very good at keeping up with consistency. Their cycle has been more regular lately, which helps in the process. I want to say it was around their birthday when they really started to show interest and from that moment they have been impressing us with their ability and it gets better and better each day!